Third generation (SK3)
2020 Kia Soul
The most reported problem on the 2020 Kia Soul is stalling, with 125 complaints, usually around 26,000 miles.
- 381owner complaints
- 1recalls
- 9involved a crash
- 20,000median miles at failure
Newest report Sep 22, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
What is your Soul doing?
Each one opens a sheet built from the owner reports of that problem on the 2020 model year.
Is the 2020 Kia Soul reliable?
The 2020 Kia Soul has 381 owner complaints on file with NHTSA, 2.2 times the median of 174 for 2020 hatchbacks on this site. Of the 12 Soul model years since 2014, it has the 4th most complaints. Complaint counts rise with sales as well as faults, so read what owners report below before deciding.
At a glance
- Next to the 2019 and 2021
- At 54 complaints for each year on the road, the 2020 runs 3.2 times the 2019 (17) and above the 2021 (39).
- Top problem
- Stalling leads with 125 of the 381 complaints (33%), ahead of engine failure at 86. A quarter of the 71 owners who gave a mileage for stalling saw it by about 12,000 miles, and half by about 26,000.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- 15 of the 381 complaints (4%) report a crash, a fire or an injury, a little under the 6% typical of vehicles on this site. Counted separately (one report can carry more than one), 9 reports mention a crash, 6 mention a fire and 6 people were hurt. The reports record 8 deaths.
- Recalls behind the top problems
- stalling, engine failure and misfire all have recalls on the same system, and the same campaigns cover them: 21V-259. A recall on the same system doesn't always cover the failure owners describe, so compare its summary with the complaints.
- When owners filed
- Complaints are still climbing. 2025 brought 72, the most of any year so far. So far in 2026, 63 more have come in.
When each problem shows up
Each bar covers the middle half of the mileages owners reported for that problem. A quarter saw it earlier, a quarter later. The tick is the median. Most reported: engine stalls or loses power while driving, 125 complaints.
middle half of reports, median tick. The heavier grey bars have 75 or more reports.
Behind you
Around your mileage
Ahead of you
How this compares
381 complaints is 1.7 times the median 2020 model on this site and 2.2 times the median 2020 hatchback. Among the 8 Soul model years here it ranks 4th for complaints. Counts follow sales volume as much as reliability, so a truck that sells 700,000 a year draws more reports than a sedan that sells 200,000.
Service bulletins for the 2020 Kia Soul
Kia filed 139 bulletins and other notices with NHTSA that list the 2020 Kia Soul. 26 of them deal with a problem owners have reported on this car. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
Engine failure, knocking or rod bearing 3 bulletins · 86 complaints
SUBSEQUENT REPAIR ACTION: ENGINE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR PISTON RING NOISE DTC 1327 (SC209Y) This bulletin provides information related to the Technical Service Bulletin previously published in (SC209A) titled “ECM Logic Improvement for Piston Ring Noise Sensing System”.
PITSTOP: DTC P0011/ P0014/ P0016/ P0017 DUE TO INCORRECT CAMSHAFT RELUCTOR WHEEL CONFIGURATION This Pitstop provides information on some 2010-2013MY Soul (AM), 2014-2019MY Soul (PS), and 2020~MY Soul (SK3) vehicles equipped with the engines listed below, which may set DTC P0011, P0014, P0016, or P0017 after an engine replacement.
1 more on this problem
SUBSEQUENT REPAIR ACTION: ENGINE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR PISTON RING NOISE DTC P1327 (SC209Y) This bulletin provides information related to the Technical Service Bulletin previously published in (SC209A) titled "ECM Logic Improvement for Piston Ring Noise Sensing System".
Check engine light or misfire 4 bulletins · 79 complaints
This bulletin provides instructions to perform an engine vibration inspection using the Kia Diagnostic System (KDS) tablet on certain Kia engine/model vehicles.
SERVICE ACTION: MIL ON DTC P0605 AND/OR P2181 ECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SA463) This bulletin provides the procedure to improve the logic of the Engine Control Module (ECM) on some 2020-2021MY Soul (SK3) vehicles and 2021MY Seltos (SP2) vehicles produced in the date ranges shown below, equipped with NU 2.0L ATK engines, which may exhibit ...
2 more on this problem
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN SERVICE ACTION: MIL ON DTC P0605 AND/OR P2181 ECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SA463) - This bulletin provides the procedure to improve the logic of the Engine Control Module (ECM) on some 2020-2021MY Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from November 24, 2018 through January ...
SERVICE ACTION: ECU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT FOR DTC P0606 (SA377) This bulletin provides the procedure to improve the logic of the Engine Control Unit (ECU) on some 2020MY Soul (SK3) 1.6T vehicles, produced from November 15, 2018 through February 28, 2019, which may exhibit a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illumination ...
Burns oil or oil level rises 3 bulletins · 41 complaints
EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES This bulletin provides information on diagnosing and/or repairing some 2011-2024MY vehicles (refer to the table on pages 9 and 10 for applicable models and engine), which may exhibit a symptom of excessive oil consumption.
EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES This bulletin provides information on diagnosing and/or repairing some 2011-2021MY vehicles (refer to the tables on pages 8-9 for applicable models and engine), which may exhibit a symptom of excessive oil consumption.
1 more on this problem
EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES This bulletin provides information on diagnosing and/or repairing some 2011-2019MY vehicles (refer to table below for applicable model and engine), which may exhibit a symptom of excessive oil consumption.
Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard 1 bulletin · 17 complaints
SERVICE ACTION: REPLACEMENT OF 7-SPEED DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY (SA396) This bulletin provides the procedure to replace the 7-Speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) assembly on some 2019-2020MY Soul (PS, SK3) vehicles, which may exhibit harsh shifting and/or Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) with transmission related DTCs due to ...
Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 10 bulletins · 7 complaints
AVN 5.0 WIDE NON-RESPONSIVE RADIO ICON (AM, FM, SXM) This bulletin provides information to update the software on 5th Generation AVN wide on certain 2020-2024MY Kia vehicles (refer to model list on page 8) to remedy a ‘non-responsive’ or ‘inoperative’ radio (FM, AM, SXM, etc.) concern.
AVN 5.0 WIDE SCREEN FREEZING OR MAP DELAY WITH WIRED APPLE CARPLAY This bulletin provides information to update the software on 5th Generation AVN wide on certain 2020-2023MY Kia vehicles to remedy an inaccurate map location, freezing AVN screen, or experiencing a delay when using Google Maps or Waze through wired Apple ...
8 more on this problem
UNEVEN/SLIPPERY ROAD WARNING DISPLAYED ON INSTRUMENT CLUSTER This bulletin provides information to update the software on 5th Generation AVN wide on certain 2020-2023MY Kia vehicles (refer to model list on page 3) to remedy a warning sound accompanied by a 'Slippery road ahead. Drive carefully' or 'Uneven road ahead.
This bulletin provides information to update the software on 5th Generation AVN wide on certain 2020-2024MY Kia vehicles (refer to model list on page 3) to remedy a 'non-responsive' or 'inoperative' radio (FM, AM, SXM, etc. ) concern.
FRONT VIEW CAMERA REPLACEMENT FOR DTC C160449 & C160649 This bulletin provides information on the inspection and replacement of the front camera on some vehicles. Due to an internal control chip concern inside the camera, the vehicle may exhibit a Forward Collision Avoidance Assist Warning Lamp (A) and/or Master ...
FRONT VIEW CAMERA REPLACEMENT AND SOFTWARE UPGRADE INSTALLATION This bulletin provides the procedure to update the software logic of the Front Camera (FR_CMR) system on the vehicles listed below, which have had a new replacement Front View Camera installed without software upgrade.
PITSTOP: BLUETOOTH MEMORY AND VOICE RECOGNITION CONCERN WITH AVN 5.0/W This Pitstop provides information for resolving a memory concern with the AVN 5.0 Wide head unit while downloading the contact list from a paired phone. The concern also affects Voice Recognition (VR) functionality.
PITSTOP: MFC, CONCERNS FOR DISABLED OPERATION This Pitstop provides information regarding concerns with disabled operation of Multi-Function Camera (MFC) on some Kia vehicles.
SERVICE ACTION: AVN 5 WIDE SOFTWARE UPDATE BLUETOOTH MEMORY ISSUE (SA386) This bulletin provides the procedure for updating the AVN 5 WIDE software on some 2020MY Telluride (ON) produced from March 23, 2019 through April 30, 2019 and Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from February 18, 2019 to May 2, 2019, which may experience Bluetooth ...
SERVICE ACTION: AVN 5 WIDE BLUETOOTH MEMORY ISSUE (SA386) This bulletin provides the procedure for updating the AVN 5 WIDE software on some 2020MY Telluride (ON) produced from March 23, 2019 through April 30, 2019 and Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from February 18, 2019 to May 2, 2019, which may experience Bluetooth ...
Engine misfire 2 bulletins · 6 complaints
MISFIRE CONCERN DUE TO OVERRUNNING ALTERNATOR DECOUPLER This bulletin provides information to address unresolved misfire events on some 2020–2024MY Forte (BDm) produced from January 1, 2019 through September 30, 2024, and 2020–2022MY Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from November 1, 2018 through May 31, 2022 equipped ...
SERVICE ACTION: SK3 1.6T GDI ECU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SA413) This bulletin provides the procedure to improve the logic of the Engine Control Unit (ECU) on some 2020MY Soul (SK3) vehicles equipped with 1.6T GDI and 7-Speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT), produced from November 15, 2018 through December 26, 2019, which ...
Power steering cuts out or goes heavy 2 bulletins · 5 complaints
PARTIAL REPAIR OF C-MDPS MOTOR, ECU, WORM GEAR AND/OR STEERING COLUMN HOUSING This bulletin provides information regarding the partial repair of the Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) Motor, Electronic Control Unit (ECU), Steering Column Housing, or Worm Gear Assembly.
SERVICE ACTION: EPS DTC JUDGEMENT LOGIC IMPROVEMENT SOFTWARE UPGRADE (SA409) This bulletin provides the procedure to apply improved Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) judgement logic for the Electronic Power Steering (EPS) on some 2020MY Soul (SK3) vehicles, produced from November 15, 2018 through October 8, 2019, which requires a software ...
Headlights too dim or fail 1 bulletin · 5 complaints
INFORMATION FOR HEADLAMP CONDENSATION AND MOISTURE This bulletin provides information relating to some Kia models that may exhibit fogging, condensation, and/or moisture inside a headlamp assembly.
Complaints filed by year
72 complaints came in 2025, 2.0 times the year before. Owners file in waves when a problem gets press or an investigation, so a spike measures attention as much as failures.
NHTSA investigations
Loss of motive power. Closed dec 12, 2023.
NHTSA summary
Recalls that include the 2020 Kia Soul
Whether your car is included depends on its VIN. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Soul, and 2021 Seltos vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which may result in engine damage.
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. In addition, Kia will deploy Piston Ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software. The recall began June 11, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC209.
The recall on the 2020 Kia Soul, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
Guide Buying one used? How to research one car’s history before you pay
Questions
What is the most common problem on the 2020 Kia Soul?
Stalling, with 125 of the 381 complaints. Owners who gave a mileage for it put the median at about 26,000 miles.
At what mileage do 2020 Kia Soul problems start?
Of the 203 complaints that give a mileage, a quarter came by about 7,000 miles and half by about 20,000.
Is the 2020 Kia Soul better or worse than the 2019 and 2021?
Counted per year on the road, the 2020 has more complaints than both the 2019 and the 2021: 54 a year against 17 and 39.
How many 2020 Kia Soul complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
15 of them (4%). The typical vehicle on this site is at 6%.
Is there a recall for stalling on the 2020 Kia Soul?
Yes, NHTSA lists a recall on the same system: 21V-259. Its summary says which failure it covers, and that isn't always the one owners describe.